WATCHING NURSE SHARKS? BE PATIENT!

This side-view shows the shark’s relatively small mouth (for a shark anyway). The two strange items hanging down from the upper lip are sensory barbels

Admire the extraordinary texture of the the skin; and the tiny evil eye. Double-click on the image and you will see that the skin is in fact tessellated, made up of a mosaic of tiny squares and near-squares.

This one is a baby nurse shark

PARENT LEADING

SO, THEY ARE SHARKS – ARE THESE GUYS DANGEROUS?

Not really, no. They aren’t looking to pick a fight; and they are not as territorially aggressive as the ‘bitey’ sharks are (or can be).  These slow-moving bottom-dwellers are generally harmless to humans. However, they can be huge—up to 4 metres —and have very strong jaws filled with thousands of tiny, serrated teeth. They will bite defensively if stepped on or bothered by divers who assume they’re docile. [As I said in an earlier post, “there are recorded instances of injuries caused to divers who have tried to pull nurse sharks by the tail”.  And serve them right, I say. Treat them with respect! And indeed patience…]

Credits: field photos by Melinda Riger, Grand Bahama Scuba; Wiki OS for the 4 mouth images